Wrecking Crew

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Nintendo

Wrecking Crew has seemingly been lost to time. While I’m sure many folks who have played it look back at the game fondly, it seems to rarely be mentioned on lists of the best NES games…And that’s a shame because Wrecking Crew is actually a very solid title. Unfortunately, when it was released in North America at the launch of the NES, everyone would have rather jumped around the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario than wreck a bunch of stuff with a big hammer as Mario. But for the folks that try it, you’ll find a very solid action game with some puzzle aspects tossed in. It was more than simply hammering stuff in your way, but it required strategy to continue to advance through the levels. It’s an often overlooked gem that was one of the best games in the early days of the NES. It was included in Wrecking Crew ’98, a Japan-only exclusive game for the Super NES as a straight port – no improved graphics or modified gameplay, but still just as fun as when it was originally released.

Review added: 02/28/2021

Wrecking Crew '98

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Pax Softonica

Wrecking Crew ’98 isn’t what I expected it would be. I expected gameplay similar to the original Wrecking Crew (which is also included on the cartridge as a straight port from the NES, graphics and all), which was an action game with puzzle aspects to it. What I got with Wrecking Crew ’98, instead, was a puzzle game with action aspects to it. Basically, Wrecking Crew ’98 is a match-3 puzzle game where you control Mario, hitting metal blocks with your hammer to either reveal a colored block or destroy a colored block to drop that column down. On the left side of the screen are levers on each row that you can hit to rotate the specific row that the lever is on. Using the methods above, your goal is to match up 3 or more of the same color. At the same time, you’ve got an opponent on the other half of the screen doing the same thing, with matches from both you and your opponent causing blocks and enemies to appear on the other side of the screen. The first person that has a column reach the top of the screen loses. It’s not an awful puzzle game, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t wish this was more like the original. That said, if you want a unique 16-bit puzzle game, then Wrecking Crew ’98 may be worth importing to add to your collection.

Review added: 02/28/2021